Local retailers pulling Confederate flags off the shelves



TACOMA -- With the Fourth of July approaching, flag stores will be selling a lot of American flags. But local retailers say the demand for Confederate flags is up, too.

“All flags have some type of meaning, what it means to one isn`t what it means to another,” Kourtney Bailey, co-owner of Flags A' Flying, said.

Right now, she said, many of her customers want the controversial Confederate flag since many retail outlets have stopped selling them after the racially motivated shooting death of nine black people in a historic African American church in Charleston, S.C.

“This where they normally would be,” Bailey said, pointing to a shelf.

On Wednesday, Bailey pulled all Confederate flags from her shelves and her website.

She`s not alone.

Frank`s Flag store in Bellevue says they are selling the last two flags but won’t reorder more.

“The groups who use it as a symbol for racism and prejudice, they have won; they have perverted the symbol so much now,” store owner Frank Frisch said.

Referring to the shooting in South Carolina, Bailey said, “It’s raw, its fresh for a lot of people."

Large retailers like Amazon and Walmart have already agreed to stop selling the Confederate flags.

“Sometimes it’s not about money, sometimes it’s about taking a stand,” Bailey said.

So despite all the phone calls from customers who want the flag, Bailey is holding her ground.

“It was a tough decision,” Bailey said, adding that she is refusing to sell the Confederate flag for the first time in the store's 19-year history.